Aston Villa join Newcastle, Arsenal in race for 49-goal Bundesliga star; club-record bid required
Aston Villa have reportedly joined the race for Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, who is a target for Newcastle United and Arsenal.
The France international is considered to be one of the best attacking players in the Bundesliga. It would be a major coup if the Villains got a deal over the line.
Unai Emery’s influence at Aston Villa has been simply remarkable since he took the helm at the club in October last year.
When the manager arrived, the Midlands club were in danger of relegation. However, Emery guided his team to an impressive seventh-place finish. They will be competing in Europe for the first time since 2010.
As a result, Emery is expected to be rewarded with plenty of funds to spend on new players. For instance, Aston Villa look set to sign highly-rated centre-back Pau Torres.
READ: Emery and Monchi can push Aston Villa to Sevilla-like dominance and challenge Premier League elite
But now, they are pushing for Diaby. If they win the race, it will come as a blow to two of their Premier League rivals.
This is according to the Daily Mail, who claim Aston Villa have ‘made checks’ on Diaby, who looks set to leave Leverkusen this summer.
The 24-year-old is reportedly keen on a switch to the Premier League so there is a real chance the Villains could get their man.
Since signing for Leverkusen in 2019, Diaby has made 172 appearances across all competitions. In the process, he has scored 49 goals and made 48 assists. This gives him an impressive average of 0.56 goal contributions per game.
As mentioned, his performances have caught the attention of Newcastle and Arsenal, who have also made enquiries into signing the winger.
The Magpies seem to be prioritising a move for Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes so they may well drop out of the race if they sign the England international.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are focusing on deals for Declan Rice and Romeo Lavia, but they still could make a move for Diaby.
Aston Villa will have to pay a large sum to sign Diaby this summer. The Villains’ current record stands at £38m, which they paid for Emiliano Buendia in 2021.
Leverkusen have slapped a £50m price tag on Diaby so it would likely require a club-record transfer to sign the Frenchman this summer.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Aston Villa table an offer for Diaby in the next couple of weeks.
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